Guanyu Zhou is welcoming the additional pressure of Formula 1 as he prepares to make his debut this weekend.
The Shanghai native will become the first full-time Chinese driver this season as part of an all-new line-up at Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas.
Despite strong results in the Formula 2 championship, including P2 behind Oscar Piastri last year, Zhou hasn’t been universally welcomed to F1 with many labelling him another ‘pay driver’.
But he is keen to prove those critics wrong.
“Of course there will always be pressure when you become a Formula 1 driver, knowing all the world is watching you, watching any mistake you’re making,” he told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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“So you have to try to make as few mistakes as possible and try to talk on track. I think that’s the most important part.
“But of course joining Alfa Romeo, such a historic brand that has so much pressure in Formula 1, I think it’s very good.
“Having the people working behind you, I think they really have the [right] spirit and you got to do well too.”
While the 2002 pecking order is currently very tough to predict, Alfa has looked stronger in pre-season than last year.
And after getting over the initial settling in period, the only rookie on this year’s grid is keen to deliver results.
“My target firstly I think is, you know, to learn as much as possible, especially in the first part of the season, to put my feet into the Formula 1 world and then build up my momentum, build up my experience in this scenario,” Zhou explained.
“But in general I want to finish in the points, not just one time, hopefully, more often.
“Of course before that, it means you have to have a great team, work together and then you gotta have a great car.
“Everything comes together as one team and then you can finally really develop the results on track. But the goal is for sure to finish in the points.”
